Shen Qi, you were just separated from He Yining yesterday, and today you're already flirting with another man!
Hmph, this time I've caught you red-handed!
Let's see how you turn this around!
Cui Yuelan thought she had Shen Qi by the tail, and was immensely pleased, so she decided not to bother Shen Qi for now.
Liu Yi looked at Shen Qi and couldn't help asking, "Do you know that woman?"
Shen Qi nodded helplessly: "Originally, I was supposed to share a room with her, but I arranged to switch later."
Shen Qi only gave a vague explanation, but Liu Yi instantly understood, even imagining a dramatic story of love and hate.
As they say, designers have too much emotion and imagination.
Otherwise, they couldn't do this job.
Just then, the person in charge came over and said to everyone: "Now I'll call the roll according to the list. When your name is called, come forward to sign in and hand over all communication devices, including phones, computers, and iPads. If anyone is found violating the rules during the competition, they will be disqualified."
Everyone quieted down, pulling out their phones and other communication tools, turning them off or setting them to airplane mode, ready to hand them over.
Shen Qi readily pulled out several of her phones.
Liu Yi's sharp eyes caught a phone in Shen Qi's hand that was clearly a custom-made model.
Liu Yi gave Shen Qi a deep look, finally realizing that her roommate seemed far from ordinary.
The person in charge called the names quickly.
Everyone stepped forward in order, stuffing their phones into the sealed bags they received, putting all unnecessary items inside, and storing them in the safe.
After locking up her belongings, Shen Qi heard Cui Yuelan sneering nearby: "Oh, you're about to divorce Brother Yining, and you're still holding onto the phone he gave you! Tsk tsk tsk, how shameless!"
"As long as I haven't divorced He Yining, I'm still his wife. Cui Yuelan, even if you want to marry He Yining, you'll have to wait until I divorce him first." Shen Qi decided to fight back.
Even if she lost this marriage, she wouldn't lose her dignity.
"What good does that do? A marriage that exists in name only is better ended sooner." Cui Yuelan gloated: "When I marry Brother Yining, I'll send you an invitation, so you can see what a real豪门 wedding looks like! Ahahaha..."
Liu Yi happened to walk over and caught the entire conversation.
Liu Yi first glanced at Shen Qi, seeing her expression unchanged, then said to Cui Yuelan: "Oh, I thought who it was. Turns out it's a mistress!"
Liu Yi didn't lower her voice; she deliberately raised it, and the people around them all turned to look.
Seeing others pointing at her, Cui Yuelan got flustered: "Hey, what's wrong with you? Which eye of yours saw me as a mistress?"
Liu Yi pointed to her own two eyes and replied: "Sorry, these two eyes both saw it!"
A few people nearby had also heard the exchange between Cui Yuelan and Shen Qi and couldn't help snickering.
Cui Yuelan glared hatefully at Liu Yi and Shen Qi, fuming: "Just you wait! Once I become the second young mistress of the He family, I'll deal with you!"
With that, Cui Yuelan turned and stormed off.
Liu Yi looked at Shen Qi: "Are you okay?"
Shen Qi shook her head: "Thanks for earlier."
Liu Yi waved her hand: "No problem. By the way, was what you said true?"
Shen Qi nodded with a bitter smile.
Liu Yi looked shocked: "Damn, I've only heard about it before, but now I've seen it with my own eyes—there really are mistresses this arrogant in the world."
Shen Qi didn't want to talk about her own affairs, so she said: "Alright, let's hurry over. I hear today's preliminary round will cut half the people."
"Half? That's bold! We've got several thousand people signed up, right? I heard they've booked several local big hotels!" Liu Yi muttered: "Who's the boss with such deep pockets? These are five-star hotels!"
Shen Qi smiled bitterly again.
The one with deep pockets was those guys!
They certainly didn't care about the money.
As long as they could find the right designer, they'd gladly pay double!
A established designer is hard to recruit.
So in recent years, these companies prefer to play the nurturing game.
Pick good seedlings and raise them in their own base.
After signing in, everyone was gathered in a hall.
Each person had a seat, and each seat had essential tools laid out.
Shen Qi carefully examined her tools—they were very complete.
Even some tools she rarely used were all prepared.
It seemed today's preliminary exam would be held here.
Looking back at the sea of heads, Shen Qi felt like she was back in a university lecture hall.
A room full of heads.
Liu Yi, sitting next to Shen Qi, gave her a thumbs-up for encouragement.
Shen Qi smiled sweetly and returned the gesture.
Cui Yuelan, seeing their interaction, snorted in disdain.
Poor people are just poor people, and their friendships are laughable!
This Shen Qi really couldn't be helped.
Even her friends were such trash.
That guy, relying on his sunny looks, was flirting around!
Most importantly, he smiled at Shen Qi, not at her.
What bad taste!
She was clearly a hundred times prettier than Shen Qi!
Liu Yi seemed to feel Cui Yuelan's sharp gaze and turned to look at her.
Seeing Liu Yi finally look over, Cui Yuelan deliberately puffed out her chest, as if to say, "See, I'm bigger than Shen Qi?"
Liu Yi couldn't help but laugh.
That woman—was her brain all in her chest?
Was she really flaunting her chest at her?
Sure enough, besides that, there was nothing but fluff!
Seeing Liu Yi laugh, Cui Yuelan thought she was captivated by her beauty and grew even more smug, casting flirtatious glances at Liu Yi.
Liu Yi turned away speechlessly, shaking her head.
The man who gave up on Xiao Qi must be blind, right?
To abandon such a delicate Eastern beauty for that brainless bimbo?
Probably not just blind in the eyes, but in the heart too.
Just then, the chief examiner arrived, cleared his throat, gave an opening speech, and finally got to the point: "Today, everyone is fighting for one goal: victory, to become a true top designer. Now, we've provided you with this perfect platform. The rest is up to your performance!"
Everyone's spirits lifted.
The test was coming.
The chief examiner solemnly opened today's preliminary topic, and the camera focused on it, displaying the content on the huge backdrop screen.
Since it was a preliminary round, the topic wasn't hard.
But it tested fundamentals.
It was basic drawing.
Every designer is a master with superb drawing skills.
So drawing is one of the most basic subjects.
This drawing wasn't like the usual landscape or oil painting categories; it tested one's structural ability.
Once the topic was announced, everyone started preparing their answers.
Each person's desk had a separate board.
That meant each person's topic was different.
This was the best way to prevent cheating.
Different things to draw meant swapping papers mid-way was useless.
Shen Qi nodded to herself—this method was indeed effective.
No need to worry about imposters on site, since everyone's topic was unique.
Shen Qi's topic was to draw the skeleton of a peony.
She thought carefully, chose a favorite shape, and began.
Liu Yi also bent over to start on her topic.
Cui Yuelan looked at her own topic and couldn't help sneering: "Such a simple test, and they dare to show it? I studied abroad! Hmph, making me take exams with these rookies—it's beneath me!"
Despite her words, when she actually started, she found it tricky.
"What the hell is this? Drawing the twelve zodiac animals? What kind of nonsense is that?" Cui Yuelan turned and saw Liu Yi bent over, drawing in profile.
All the desks were the same height, so taller people had to bend over to draw.
Liu Yi was 178 cm barefoot, and with shoes, about 180 cm.
Even a man that tall would be stunningly handsome, let alone a woman.
And Liu Yi always dressed like a boy—short, neat hair, black oversized T-shirt, ripped skinny jeans, white casual sneakers.
She looked sunny and handsome.
Not just Cui Yuelan, but many other women in the room were sneaking glances at Liu Yi.
The actual test time was short.
After half an hour, most had finished.
Everyone sealed their work in large envelopes and dropped them into the sealed boxes on their desks.
Those who finished left one by one.
Cui Yuelan slowly stuffed her test and answer into the sealed box, still sneaking looks at Liu Yi.
Maybe stolen goods always seemed better, or anything belonging to Shen Qi was good, but Cui Yuelan found Liu Yi increasingly appealing.
Liu Yi left the exam hall with Shen Qi, and they exchanged thoughts on the test.
Seeing Cui Yuelan come out, a mischievous smile curled at Liu Yi's lips. She said to Shen Qi: "Xiao Qi, there's a rest area ahead. Go get some juice and wait for me. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Shen Qi smiled softly and left.
Liu Yi walked toward Cui Yuelan.
Seeing Liu Yi approach, a smug look flashed in Cui Yuelan's eyes.
See? Any man would prefer a woman like her!
Shen Qi was just a plaything.
Cui Yuelan tossed her hair confidently, her eyes seductive as she looked at Liu Yi.